Strawberries and Teabags


David Cameron wants to block certain "pornographic" search terms. He joins a long list of MPs who simply don't understand what they're talking about - like Claire Perry, Andy Burnham, and Helen Goodman. I've talked before about my time working as an "Adult Material Classifier" for Vodafone UK. In short, my team and I used […]

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The Invisible Nightmare


It rather sounds like the title of a Doctor Who story from the late 1970s, doesn't it? But it's a term that I think we're going to be hearing a lot of in the future. Jake Levine recently wrote an excellent post on apps which don't require any interaction. It's not quite as crazy as […]

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A Dangerous Change To Google Maps


Update 2013-07-13 I've just received this email from Nate Tyler at Google. Hope you're enjoying the weekend. I work on the Google Maps team and just saw your post on Google Maps navigation. Thank you very much for the concern. Wanted to be sure you and your readers are aware that we have pushed an […]

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Cryptography and the Coventry Problem


Photo of an Enigma machine at Bletchley Park.

There's an ethical conundrum which is often posed to military strategists and philosophers alike. In 1940, the Nazi's communications encryption had been broken by the British. Military Intelligence were able to decrypt a signal which indicated that the city of Coventry was to be bombed. The military chiefs took this information to the Prime Minister, […]

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This Call Is Being Recorded


We've all been stuck on hold to some call centre and heard a distant voice say "For your security, and our training purposes, your call may be recorded." I've always wanted to say to people "just so you know, I am also recording this call." Well, now I can. A little back story... Around 4 […]

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I *Love* The New MySpace


The British are culturally predisposed to root for the underdog. I'd never been a massive fan of MySpace - but after the trials and tribulations it has gone through, I have a soft spot in my heart for it. So, when this email arrived, I couldn't wait to give it a go. Ok, so the […]

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